Sharing the pain

This is Merry, me and Rose, on the day of the NYPL talk, in our apartment. Merry's mom and Rose have been friends (along with their husbands) for years, in old Pioneer Women days. What a thrill it was to have them both at my event.

Dear friends and family,

We were worried about our friends in Tuscaloosa, who didn't answer email until late last night:
Here is what we heard:

"Yes, it was quite awful for Tuscaloosa. our family is all okay, and luckily none of my close friends died or were seriously injured. Bu many of them have had their homes or businesses destroyed. I have spent the last three days 1) working at a shelter; 2) clearing construction debris and salvaging possessions from friends' houses; and 3) working at an enormous donation clearinghouse in a warehouse trying to sort donations of food, water, clothes, and supplies and then redistrubute them. (I was working in the canned goods there part of today with a girl from our shul whose Bat Mitzvah was scheduled to have taken place right at that very moment! It was postponed for a few weeks.) There are some parts of town that were largely untouched (stephanie's place, mom's and mine are all fine) but there are whole neighborhoods that were leveled--like the aftermath of a bomb or a wildfire. Other things have crippled the city in less immediately visible ways: for instance, the city's sanitation services HQ buildings and all the garbage trucks we own were all destroyed. Obama came yesterday and saw some of the worst-hit areas, and then pledged some aid, which is very, very needed and welcome. So, I am fine, but the town is hurting."

Thanks goodness Joanna's whole family is OK. What a terrible thing. Climate Change. We have to stop calling it "Global Warming," though that is happening too. It's the increased energy in the climate system that is wracking havoc. Will the deniers just continue their nonsense until it is too late?

On the home front, nothing much happening yesterday. Sonia makes a pound of noodles for me when she is here, and I use it all week to make this and that. Yesterday we had the pasta with vegetables and a hefty amount of cheese plus tomato-basil sauce. It was supposed to be enough for lunch only, but it will be good for another meal today. Hooray! No cooking.

I read an article someone sent me about itch centers being established in the USA, one perhaps in Boston. Europe takes chronic itching seriously and has several itch centers. I learned that for p.vera itch (my brand) I am doing everything recommended: UVB treatment 3 times a week, Paxil, Gabapentin (which I started for the neuropathy) but which also has an effect on itching, and multiple doses a day of one-a-day antihistamines. These things have it under control, but late at night sometimes, as last night, I have to take yet another antihistamine when it goes into high gear. No mention of lotions or sprays in the article. It's internally caused, no one knows why, and while lotions are comforting, they do nothing for my sort of itch.

I watch the fading and the blooming of the flowers all over. The cherry trees bloom so briefly, as does the magnolia. The daffodils are long-lasting but the tulips, though gorgeous, are brief. The forsythia may be the longest lasting: now the yellow is suffused with green. The azalea is coming—and it will be with us for a while. Friends travel afar to see new things. I watch what's happening in my yard and in the neighborhood.

Merwin and I took a walk in the neighborhood, up hill and down dale, but his hip starts hurting when he walks at my slow pace. He went home before I was finished, and I continued alone! This was the first walk alone, with my cane, since last July. I think I can do it. I have to do it because Sonia won't be with me after Thursday. I also did about 20 minutes on the stationary bicycle. So I am trying.

Looks like another beautiful day today. Hope you all have a good one.

Love,
Bernice